Stormzy signs open letter supporting Jeremy Corbyn ahead of U.K. election
The MC is one of a number of grime artists to back the Labour party.
Stormzy has backed the Labour party and leader Jeremy Corbyn in the run-up to Britain's general election next month. The rapper is one of a number of grime MCs to sign a letter to The Guardian urging young people to register to vote in the election and outlining their intention to vote Labour.
The letter calls on readers to “end austerity, rebuild our communities, and take back the means to change our lives for the better.” Other prominent grime artists to sign the letter include Kano, Akala, Charlie Sloth, Professor Green, Saskilla, and Sharkey Major.
“Ending austerity will, for the first time in many of our lifetimes, use the taxes we all already pay into, to reinvest in the housing, youth clubs, community groups and cultural centres being destroyed by the current government,” the letter says.
“We are under no illusions about Labour’s own imperial history, and we don’t think the British establishment is fundamentally going to change. But we are sick of our taxes being spent on fighting more wars and building more jails.
“Jeremy Corbyn has been one of the few people who has fought against injustice all his political life, from apartheid South Africa to the bombing of Libya.”
Stormzy expanded on his personal support for Jeremy Corbyn in a statement posted on Instagram Monday evening. "There are several reasons as to why I’m voting for him — I would be here all day if I began to list them... but in my 26 years of life, I have never trusted politicians or relied on them to be the bearers of hope and righteous people that we’ve needed them to be. And for me, he is the first man in a position of power who is committed to giving the power back to the people and helping those who need a helping hand from the government the most." He concluded his letter be reiterating his call to register to vote.
The deadline for voter registration is midnight on November 26 with the election due to take place on December 12.
Stormzy backed Corbyn's Labour party in the most recent U.K. election back in 2017. He has maintained an anti-Conservative stance ever since, stating “Fuck Boris” in recent single "Vossi Bop" and labelling Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg "an actual piece of shit" over comments the politician made about the Grenfell disaster.
Heavy Is The Head, Stormzy's second album, is schedule for release on December 13, one day after the U.K. election.
This post was updated on Monday, November 25, 2019 to include Stormzy's personal letter of support.